


Boy, I'm Your Candy

by celine (kaihun)



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Best Friends, Cotton Candy Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Kim Jongin | Kai-centric, M/M, Maybe a lowkey proposal who knows, Slice of Life, Summer, Teenagers, county fair
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:40:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25204861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaihun/pseuds/celine
Summary: Jongin goes on a quest during the county fair to get his long-time best friend (and long-time crush) Sehun the cotton candy he desires.
Relationships: Kim Jongin | Kai/Oh Sehun
Comments: 9
Kudos: 96
Collections: Round 4: Spring and Summer





	Boy, I'm Your Candy

**Author's Note:**

> Written for EXO Seasonal Fest Round 4, prompt blossom 16: 
> 
> pairing: any/any  
> blossom: Character A goes on a quest during the county fair to get his long-time best friend (and long-time crush) the cotton candy he desires.  
> season: summer  
> max rating: teen and up audiences
> 
> \--
> 
> hello all just wanted to let you know this is jongin-centric & the whole fic takes place in the span of 1 day, from morning to night without any scene breaks. but if you make it through nini's quest to meet up with his beloved sehun, you will be rewarded with more fluff than you may be prepared for (and i'm not just talking about the cotton candy) :)
> 
> trigger warnings: there is a child who gets lost (but ultimately ends up finding their parent). there's also a mention of a near-drowning experience that happened in the past. these are both minor points of the story so i did not include them in the tags.
> 
> rated T for light swearing

Jongin wakes up on what has to be the hottest day of July so far in his entire _life_. The combination of heat and humidity is effectively its own alarm clock, pulling him out of a fitful sleep because it’s way too hot to stay in bed like this. Later when the sun is at its highest peak, Jongin could easily see himself getting burned alive - it's the opening day of the annual County Fair, and he has plans to meet up with Sehun there.

The oddly realistic dream he just woke up from has left him feeling a bit unsettled, now that he’s mostly awake. It was the beginning of strawberry picking season (his favorite fruit!), so he and his sisters visited a local farm to stock up. Each strawberry was chosen with painstaking care, with Jongin only picking ones that were ripe and perfectly-shaped.

While his sisters were busy deciding what strawberry-infused dessert they wanted to make first, Jongin gathered the best of his stash and brought them over to Sehun, his best friend since seventh grade - only for Sehun to tell him he didn’t like strawberries. Jongin had felt silly standing there on Sehun’s front porch, holding onto what was now an embarrassingly heavy basket full of strawberries his best friend apparently didn’t want, at a loss for what he could possibly do with them all.

That’s when he woke up. Weird, right?

It was an obvious dream scenario, because in real life, Jongin knows Sehun loves strawberries just as much as he does. Maybe the dream version of him knew that, and he woke himself up after realizing the absurdity of the situation. He makes a note to tell Sehun about this later. They like to tell each other everything, from their dreams to their goals, to new music they discovered, and what they did all day, on the rare days they don’t get to see each other. Their other friends say it’s pretty gay, especially the sharing dreams part, but it’s such an ingrained part of his friendship with Sehun that Jongin doesn’t find it in him to care. As long as the other is comfortable with how close they both are, nothing else really matters. And while Jongin did eventually figure out that he _is_ attracted to Sehun like that, he knows better than to let his feelings change their friendship.

On a normal day, Jongin would lounge in bed for much longer, gradually waking up in stages. Maybe he'd dissect his dreams even further, or cringe over an embarrassing thing he did five years ago, or go through at least a hundred of his worries until he realizes he’s starving, then wander downstairs to eat breakfast (lunch) around one. It’s summer, and Jongin has earned the right to be lazy, okay? He’s been working hard all year to be able to slack off just a little.

But today he has actual plans, and the fact that he’s drenched in sweat has him eager to jump out of bed and take a cold shower. His family got used to not using the central air-conditioning for both financial and environmental reasons, which Jongin has been hyper-conscious about now that his eldest sister is studying environmental studies at university. She taught Jongin different ways to reduce his carbon footprint, and since she’s living in a different state now, he was the one tasked to convince his parents to enact these changes at home. Sure, they could have invested in a green cooling system, but after they estimated the cost, they were disappointed to note it was out of their budget. With both his sisters in university, and Jongin not far off himself, it made more sense for his family to at least try to reduce their dependence on A/C, and over time, they adjusted to life without one pretty well. Jongin’s dad was pleasantly surprised at how much they saved on their electric bill last month. And anyway, they still use their electric fans when the heat is particularly unbearable. They’ll have the fans on blast today, for sure.

After a quick shower in cold water, Jongin feels like a human being ready to take on the obstacles the day has to throw at him. As he’s towel-drying his hair in front of the bathroom mirror, he notices his stubble growing in, and spends some time examining his reflection at different angles. He’s excited to show Sehun later - they have a running contest on who can grow more facial hair, and so far, Jongin is winning by a landslide. Sehun had started the bet around fourteen when puberty had hit them both, long before either of them had any semblance of facial hair, but right when they were beginning to suffer from near-constant growing pains. The contest was on a two year hiatus due to a grand total of zero facial hair growth between the two of them. 

But then Jongin showed up at school one day with a smug grin on his face, pointing to the coarse (but sparse) hair growing on his upper lip and chin, and Sehun had to pay him twenty dollars. Jongin had used it towards a new video game he and Sehun wanted to get, and since Sehun was always over to play it with him, it wasn’t really like Sehun lost anything. Jongin will never forget the look on Sehun’s face when he showed up to school that day with his “scruff”, though: Sehun had looked so betrayed, as if he hadn’t made the bet himself and thus wasn’t aware of its consequences, and as if Jongin had somehow grown up without him, leaving him behind without a chance to catch up. These days they stopped taking the contest as seriously, so actual money is no longer involved - but Jongin still enjoys teasing Sehun about it every once in a while. Sue him. 

Jongin dresses in a red and white striped short-sleeve tee and a pair of cut-off denim shorts before ruffling his hair with some gel and calling it a day. He got a fresh undercut last week, right in time for the worst of the summer heat. Stuffing his phone in his front pocket, he takes the stairs down three at a time before pausing at the bottom step to scope out where his mom might be. If she sees him, she’ll make him shave. 

He tries to slink towards the front door, planning to yell out a quick _Mom! I’m heading out, bye, I love you!_ before she can take a good look at his face, but his mom’s in the kitchen, and though her back is turned, she immediately senses his presence in the way mothers always do. 

“Kim Jongin, where do you think you’re going? Come here. Eat some breakfast first.”

Sighing, Jongin goes to sit at the kitchen counter, and sure enough, his mom frowns after taking one look at him.

“I’ll shave later tonight, okay?” Jongin promises, and his mom smiles, pleased that she didn’t have to say a word about it.

“So, where are you going today?” She asks as she gives Jongin a plate of sausage and egg toast, Korean style with cheese, sliced cabbage, carrots, brown sugar, and ketchup. The egg is slightly runny, just the way he likes it.

“I’m going to the fair and meeting up with Sehun.” Jongin is suddenly glad he didn’t skip breakfast, and he scarfs down the toast in four bites, nodding eagerly when his mom asks if he wants more. He’s a growing teenage boy, alright. Cut him some slack.

“Make sure to be home by ten.”

“Ma!” He groans. Ten! Seriously? “Can’t you make an exception today? It’s _the fair_.”

His mom seems to contemplate her decision. “Fine, eleven. Make sure Sehun gets home safe. No drinking. And don’t forget to take out the garbage when you come back.”

Eleven is still too early, in his opinion, but Jongin agrees to all her demands, mostly because he knows any further disagreement with his mom won’t get him anywhere. He finishes the second toast she cooks up for him, then washes the dishes he ate on, and everything else still in the sink without his mom having to tell him to. When he’s finished, he leans down to kiss her forehead - he’s at least a half-foot taller than his mom now - and heads to the door.

“Eleven!” She reminds him, calling out from the kitchen where she’s already working on meal prep for dinner.

“Yes, ma! Thanks for breakfast, it was great! See you later, love you!”

The curfew might be annoying, and the nagging about his facial hair when he barely even has any (his friend Moonkyu can grow a mustache already, not fair), but Jongin knows he’ll be missing all this when he’s off at college. These moments are something to cherish.

The county fair is definitely the highlight of summer, and Jongin has looked forward to it every year since his family moved into town when he was ten. The first time he went, he was barely tall enough to go on his first roller coaster ride, after which he decided the experience wasn’t worth the trauma. But all the other parts about it - the classic fair food, the carnival games, the less heart attack-inducing rides, all the flashing neon lights? It was the closest thing to magic for ten-year-old Jongin, and he still feels that same wonder about it, even now at seventeen.

It takes him around twenty minutes to bike to the fair. Thanks to his regular cardio workouts, he’s not completely exhausted by the time he gets there. (He just made varsity soccer, so he can’t afford to slack off even though it’s summer and everyone else is relaxing and chilling. September will be here before he knows it). The sun is almost at its highest point now, the sky a blazing cerulean blue, and there isn’t a cloud in sight.

Jongin gulps down the rest of the water in his eco bottle, then locks up his bike on the rack by the parking lot, where there’s a long line in front of the admissions booth. There’s a bag-check and a bunch of metal detectors to get through, but there’s also a fast lane for people who didn’t bring one. When he was a kid, the fair didn’t do bag-checks or anything to enter, but times have changed around here. It’s definitely better to be safe than sorry. Aside from knives and other weapons, they’re also checking for alcohol and other contraband items that some of the more delinquent high schoolers might stupidly try to sneak in.

While strolling to the end of the designated fast-lane - still a super long line - he hears someone calling out his name, so he scans the line and sees it’s Chanyeol. Jongin walks over but before he can say hi, Chanyeol grabs his shoulders and has him cut the line, which Jongin is embarrassed by. “What the hell, Yeol? I didn’t ask to cut.” He glances at the line of people behind Chanyeol, feeling guilty.

“Chill bro, they don’t mind. I only let you cut, not a group of people.” Jongin knows it’s only a matter of time before they see more people they know. Chanyeol is just that type of guy who feels duty-bound to let everyone he’s acquainted with cut in front of him, but Chanyeol continues on before he can point that out. “I’ve been waiting thirty minutes already. They only have two ticket vendors and it’s taking forever. The system went down or something. They’re only taking people paying in cash.”

“That’s cool, I only have cash, anyway.”

To pass the time, Jongin asks him about how the music is going - he’s in a duo band with Sehun - even though he’s pretty much up-to-date with their progress through Sehun’s daily updates. Chanyeol recounts what they’ve worked on this past week, and invites him to come over the next time he’s free. He wants him to take a look at their work and give them a fresh perspective, and Jongin excitedly agrees. “You guys know I’m your biggest fan.”

“You better stream our mixtape when we drop it on SoundCloud. And our music video! Stream it on Youtube, too.”

“Don’t you worry about that. When you see you got one billion views, know they were _all_ me.”

"Wait, are you saying you're the only one gonna be streaming our mixtape?"

"Shut up and take a compliment, Yeol."

Before they know it, they’re at the front of the line, pay their entrance fees, get the orange wristbands slapped on their wrists, and are finally allowed into the festival gates.

Jongin pulls out his phone, just as he gets a notification for a text from Sehun. It’s almost like they can read each other’s minds or something.

**Sehun**

Dude where u at

**Jongin**

I’m inside now! Where are you

**Sehun**

In line for the roller coaster come join

**Jongin**

Haha funny you know I hate roller coasters

**Sehun**

Pls I’m just messing with u

Could u just do me a tiny little favor por favor?

**Jongin**

Depends what it is. 

**Sehun**

Get me some cotton candy? The line was too long when I passed by earlier :( And now I’m stuck on this roller coaster line for who lnows how long :( I’m barricaded in like a prisoner and the cotton candy craving is CONSUMING me

**Jongin**

Why didn’t you just wait on the cotton candy line if you were craving it so bad

**Sehun**

Because the roller coaster was calling me too.

Priorities duh

Jongin rolls his eyes. Typical. But Sehun used not one, but two sad faces.

**Jongin**

Fine

**Sehun**

ily

Jongin pockets his phone, and he looks up to see Chanyeol smirking.

“Let me guess, that was Sehun.”

“Yep.”

“It’s cool, you can go meet up with him. I’m kinda on a tight schedule right now. Gonna try to cram in a couple of the new rides before my shift at the Dunk Tank starts at one.”

“You didn’t tell me you volunteered for that!”

“That was on purpose.”

They part ways after that, with Jongin threatening to stop by during Chanyeol’s shift to get him dunked. Looking fearful, Chanyeol said it would be absolutely fine if he couldn’t find the time. When he meets up with Sehun later, Jongin will have to tell him, because he’ll want to dunk Chanyeol for sure.

Stopping by the county fair map, Jongin patiently waits behind a family of five as they argue with one another about where they want to go first. Jongin can relate - his family is exactly like this whenever they’re on an outing.

When the family eventually figures out their order of business and leaves, Jongin steps up to examine the list of food and drink vendors. There’s at least five different cotton candy sellers, but Jongin knows Sehun means his favorite cotton candy that he gets every year from Blooming Candies. They specialize in their huge flower designs, all made out of cotton candy, and serve it in a paper cone like a flower bouquet. It’s quite creative. Sehun always makes a point to get it every year at the county fair as his first treat; he is particular about his traditions. Jongin thinks it tastes pretty good, worthy of the hype, but personally, his favorite county fair treat is the most traditional fair food around - funnel cake. Call him boring, he doesn’t care - funnel cake remains superior. He’ll go get some after the cotton candy.

After locating Blooming Candies on the map, Jongin traces it back to the **You Are Here**! arrow in bright orange, indicating his current location. It’s practically on the other side of the fairgrounds, which is annoying. The county fair is a huge event and has been steadily expanding its rides, attractions, and vendors every year, but it’s just ridiculous how he’s going to have to traverse through the crowds in this insane heat.

Well, it’s not like he has anything else he needs to do right now. Resigned to his fate, Jongin does a quick run-through of the route he needs to take before heading on his way. 

There’s not much space to walk freely because the vendors are so densely packed, and they definitely increased the number of rides this year - he passes by a couple he hasn’t seen before, like something crazy called “The Sky Chaser” and another called “Power Surge." Both look scary as hell - definitely rides Sehun would want to go on. But no, not Jongin. He likes to play it safe, thanks. Like the Mermaid Carousel, a county fair classic, and the Safari Monorail are perfectly fine and entertaining enough for him.

Jongin finds himself frequently stuck behind slow walkers, and groups of people who insist on walking side-by-side, leaving no room to pass whatsoever. Jongin isn’t an asshole, though, he gets that most of these fair-goers are too busy enjoying all the sights and sounds and having fun with their family and friends to really care about anything else. 

When he reaches his first landmark, the Mermaid Carousel, the path forks, and he takes his first left. The next thing he’s supposed to look out for is the booth for the Fried Oreo Churros. As he’s looking around left and right for any large Oreo signs, Jongin notices a little girl in the distance standing on her own by the spinning teacup ride. As he approaches closer, he recognizes it’s one of the regular kids he reads to at the public library, where he’s been volunteering with Sehun for their children’s storytelling time this summer. Jongin looks around again, his concern sky-rocketing when he confirms that she’s alone, no parent or guardian in sight. No one else around them seems to have noticed yet, either.

When he gets close enough, he stops to think about how to approach without scaring her. Hopefully, she’s been taught not to speak to strangers. Jongin isn’t exactly a stranger, but he’s not sure if she would recognize him outside of the library setting. He just wants to make sure she isn’t lost. Maybe he’s mistaken and her guardian is actually closeby? But then she catches Jongin’s gaze before he can make his decision, and her eyes brighten up in recognition as she calls out, “Mr. Jongin!”

Smiling, he walks up to her and kneels down so they’re at eye-level. “Hayun! You remember me.”

“You tell the best stories,” Hayun says shyly. “Where’s Mr. Sehun?”

“I’m glad. I like sharing my favorite stories with you,” Jongin says. “Mr. Sehun is waiting in line for the roller coaster ride!”

“Oooh. That’s for big kids!” Hayun exclaims. After a moment, her face falls, and she surprises Jongin by running right into his arms, sniffling a little while she clings to his neck. “I’m sad. I lost my daddy because I wanted to go on the ride!”

“Oh no! Don’t worry! I’ll help you find him, okay?”

She nods, then she lets go in favor of holding Jongin’s hand.

“Do you know where you last saw your dad?”

Hayun shakes her head. “I ran to the teacups! I am tall enough to ride,” she explains. “But when I looked back, Daddy was gone.”

Jongin pulls out his phone to look at the picture he took of the fairgrounds map earlier and locates the security area at the center, which isn’t far from where they are right now. “We’ll walk to the security tent to help you find your dad, okay? Just hold my hand until we get there.”

When they arrive, Hayun spots her father waiting on a folding chair inside the tent with his head in his hands. A few security guards are standing by him, talking into their radios. Hayun calls out to him, and upon seeing her, he jumps up and runs to pick her up and hold her tightly. Jongin can’t help but tear up at their reunion.

“Bad Daddy!” She scolds him. He apologizes for leaving her alone, promising that it won’t ever happen again. “Daddy, I wasn’t alone for too long. Mr. Jongin helped me find you!” Hayun says gratefully, pointing to Jongin.

“Thank you so much, young man,” Mr. Jung says, fervently shaking Jongin’s hand up and down. “I looked away for just a second…” he trails off, feeling guilty.

“No problem, sir. I’m just glad Hayun got back to you safely.”

After briefly talking to security about what happened, Jongin turns back to Hayun. “I’ll see you at the library next week, okay?”

“I can’t wait!” Hayun jumps up and down in her excitement.

Jongin is still smiling as he reroutes himself back to his original path. Hayun is Sehun’s favorite kid during story-telling time. Of course they love all the kids, but Hayun has a special place in Sehun’s heart. She loves to stay after storytime and ask them both questions, and sometimes she brings them cupcakes - Sehun is open to bribery of the sugary fashion, in exchange for his affections. He will be glad to hear that Hayun is okay, and that she’s looking forward to their next reading - it’s Sehun’s turn to pick the story.

When Jongin finally spots the Blooming Candies sign in the distance, he is strangely suspicious. There is not a single soul on line. Or is he just lucky? Did he actually come at the perfect time?

Jongin walks up closer to the booth to check out the menu stand: they boast a surprisingly wide variety of flavors for their cotton candy, like pop rocks, strawberry, and bubble gum, and even more unique and adventurous flavors like root beer, mango, and marshmallow. Woah, they even expanded their savory menu - they have cotton candy flavored like bacon and popcorn? There’s a lot of intriguing choices, but Jongin knows what Sehun wants because he gets the same one every year: strawberry. He’s ready to order right when the girl at the booth who was busy organizing some cardboard boxes finally notices him standing in front.

“Ah! I’m so sorry, but we just ran out of stock! But if you could wait or check back in like twenty minutes - we’re getting more ingredients from the truck and making a fresh batch?”

“Oh, okay! No problem, I’ll come back later then.” Darn, Jongin knew it was too good to be true. So what should he do now while he waits? He doesn’t want to go too far from here, because it’s only going to be twenty minutes - he needs to be close by before the line forms again.

Jongin finds himself wandering into the vendor two booths down, which is selling what looks like a little bit of everything - from temporary tattoos and jewelry, to novelty mugs and old vinyl. There’s a young boy playing in front of one of the entrances, and Jongin politely excuses himself before squeezing past him to get inside under the tent. He takes note of some things that maybe his mom and sisters would like, but he doesn’t purchase them just yet. He can always come back later tonight, or even another day when he’ll be less busy. But, he figures he can buy something right now that could be small enough to fit into his pocket and not get ruined.

Circling back to the jewelry area, Jongin spots a box of assorted rings that cost less than a dollar. After examining a couple of different rings he’s dug out, Jongin finds one he wants to buy: a novelty ring with a rather large, sparkly pink heart on it. He’ll gift it to Sehun as a joke. You know, just to see what he’ll say.

After buying the ring and pocketing it safely, Jongin wanders back out, only to see the boy from earlier lose his grip on the string of the red balloon his mother had just bought for him. Instinctively, Jongin jumps up to grab it before it rises too high. When he returns the balloon to its rightful owner, the kid’s mom thanks him repeatedly, and the boy gives Jongin a high-five with some serious power, making Jongin laugh out loud. What’s up with today? In his quest for cotton candy, he’s already managed to help out two kids. If Sehun were here, he’d make some joke about Jongin being a superhero, probably.

When he returns to Blooming Candies, he’s first in line when they open it back up. Finally, with two freshly-made strawberry cotton candy bouquets in tow, Jongin is ready to meet up with his best friend, who must be wondering where the hell he is right now, now that he thinks about it. Juggling the paper cones in one hand, he takes his phone out of his pocket to text Sehun, but his face falls when the screen remains pitch black.

 _No way_. His phone is dead. How did this even happen? Jongin made sure he charged it last night, and the only time he used it today was to text Sehun when he got here, when he took a picture of the festival map, and when he used the map to find the security area - oh shit. He faintly remembers turning his screen brightness to the maximum setting so he could see the map clearly, and he must’ve forgotten to turn it back down. And there’s also the tiniest possibility that his phone was still in the “no automatic screen lock” setting. And that his battery kind of sucks to begin with because he keeps falling asleep before he remembers to unplug the charger, and it overcharges. Fine, Jongin did this to himself.

How in the world will he be meeting up with Sehun now? Okay, wait, Sehun’s last known location was in line for the roller coaster. That was hours ago, but there’s a slight chance Sehun is still there, right? No need to worry, Jongin. Everything is fine.

Everything is not fine, because he remembers this means he doesn’t have the map on his phone to use now, and he doesn’t know how to get to the roller coaster from here. Well, okay - he really shouldn’t _need_ a map for this - he can see the roller coaster in the distance from where he’s standing, but whether or not he’s taking the best route to get there is another story.

So Jongin starts heading toward the roller coaster, and he at least knows he’s going the right direction because it looks like it’s getting bigger and closer after several minutes of walking. Shut up - he knows he isn’t great at directions, okay? This is progress for him.

Fifteen minutes of getting past a busy crowd while simultaneously protecting Sehun’s cotton candy later, Jongin miraculously makes it to the roller coaster in one piece. He ends up closer to the middle of the ride, though, so he circles around to the front to check if Sehun is on the line - but he doesn’t see him waiting there. Next he tries the roller coaster’s exit, but he has to wait for the current ride to finish. After the last person files out and none of them are Sehun, he finally acknowledges his dilemma.

While thinking of what to do, Jongin wanders back to the entry line, and he happens to run into another familiar face, Baekhyun.

“What’s up, man?” Baekhyun greets him excitedly, always in an infectiously good mood. “Is that cotton candy for me? Oh Jongin, you shouldn’t have.”

Jongin snatches the cotton candy away before Baekhyun can even touch it. “Hands off, this is for Sehun.”

“Of course,” Baekyun says glumly. He searches around Jongin, checking over his left and right shoulder, and then behind him. “Wait, where is he?”

“Yeah so here’s the thing - I was supposed to meet Sehun here, but that was hours ago, and my phone died, so I don’t know how the hell I’m going to meet up with him now,” Jongin explains, feeling dejected. “Oh, can you text him for me and ask where he is right now?”

“No problemo!” Baekhyun whips out his phone and shoots Sehun a text, or rather multiple texts in rapid succession because he finds it's a better representation of how he talks in real life. The next few minutes, his face morphs through a complex series of emotions before finally ending with a look of determination, making it hard for Jongin to understand what the hell just went on in that conversation.

“So?” Jongin asks.

Baekhyun coughs into his fist. “Alright, so here’s what’s happening: I’m coming with you to crash Sehun’s date.”

“Sehun’s...date?” Uh, what? As far as Jongin knows, Sehun isn’t seeing anybody. He would’ve told him.

“Sehun is on the ferris wheel ride right now.” Baekhyun pauses for dramatic effect. “With Bohyun.”

“ _What_?” 

Bohyun is an alumni of their high school, two years their senior, and a sophomore at the liberal arts college to which Sehun is planning to go. After moving back into town for some summer internship position, Bohyun had reconnected with Sehun, and they’ve hung out a few times already since June. Of course, Jongin only knows this through Sehun. Jongin is ninety percent sure Sehun had a crush on Bohyun two years ago but never acted on it, and that Sehun was too embarrassed to tell Jongin when he didn’t have to be. Yeah Jongin would be disappointed, but not for the reason Sehun would have assumed.

Before Bohyun had graduated, Sehun was always talking about Bohyun this and Bohyun that, and the guy had fawned over Sehun in turn, using his senior connections to make sure the younger boy got into the AP classes he wanted and that sort of thing. Sure, he was friendly with Jongin, too, but it was nowhere near the way he was like with Sehun. It was probably more due to the fact that Jongin was Sehun’s best friend, so there was that unspoken necessity for them to get along, at least when Sehun was around. Sehun had stopped talking about Bohyun as much after he had left for college, but Jongin personally knows that crushes don’t just conveniently disappear into thin air when you will them to. Especially now that Bohyun is back in town to reignite the flame.

Therefore Jongin isn’t actually surprised to find out Sehun is hanging out with Bohyun now, but he does feel somewhat betrayed - the ferris wheel is supposed to be _their_ thing. Every year, they ride it together on the first day of the county fair, and now Sehun is sharing their tradition with someone else. Jongin is annoyed at himself for feeling hurt in the first place. His rational side knows it shouldn’t be a big deal - they can always ride it again together on any of the other days they’ll be going until they get absolutely sick of fair rides and fair food (or more likely use up too much of their secret shared fund of everything they've saved from their allowance money plus their part-time jobs), but still. It’s the principle of the matter.

“I’m not going to crash their ‘date’, Baek.” Jongin shakes his head. “Sehun is free to hang out with whoever he wants.”

“Bro, how dense are you? This isn’t some platonic hangout - Bohyun is _into_ Sehun. You know that, right?” Baekhyun asks, shaking Jongin by the shoulders, and Jongin struggles to keep the cotton candy he’s still holding upright. “Lover’s lane 101: the ferris wheel is the most romantic ride of the fair - wait, aside from the Tunnel of Love - the Old Mill, but anyway - you don’t go on it with just anybody,” Baekhyun says with passion. “You go there with someone you want to kiss!” His eyes are twinkling, and he’s seemingly lost in a memory of his own first kiss experience on a ferris wheel, before snapping himself back to the pressing matter at hand. “For all we know he’s making a move on Sehun right now! We must stop him!”

Huh. Jongin never heard of that being a thing. For years, he and Sehun have been going on the ferris wheel together and they never thought twice about it being weird or anything. “Calm down, Baek,” Jongin says, shaking his head. “Even if that’s true, that’s Sehun’s business. It’s not my place to stop him from doing what he wants.”

Baekhyun’s face falls - he knows when Jongin makes his mind, there isn’t much he can do to change it. He can be so stubborn sometimes. “So we’re not going to meet him at the ferris wheel?”

“No, we won’t. I’ll just meet up with him after,” Jongin says with finality.

“Fine,” Baekhyun sighs. “So what are you going to do now?” Then he remembers where he was heading before he ran into Jongin. “Do you want to go to the Dunk Tank with me? It’s Chanyeol’s shift!”

“I was planning to, but I kind of need some time alone right now. Sorry,” Jongin says, feeling bad. “Meet up with you maybe later?”

“That’s cool if you really want to be alone, but you don’t have your phone, so how are you going to contact anybody? Oh wait! I forgot I brought my power bank.” Baekhyun retrieves it from his pocket and hands it to Jongin so he can charge his phone. “Here, take it!”

“Woah, thanks. But won’t you need it?” 

“Nah, I’m good, my phone is at 80%. Give it back tomorrow, I’ll be fine. Right now you need it way more than I do.” After Jongin assures him that he’s okay at least five more times, Baekhyun is appeased. “Text me if you need me!”

Jongin is grateful for having a friend like Baekhyun, who has a natural sense of when Jongin does need company to talk things out but is reluctant to admit it, and when he truly needs his own space. Right now he definitely wants to be alone. It’s one part of an exercise his second eldest sister taught him. She worries that he has a tendency to distance himself from his emotions as a coping mechanism, so she’s always reminding him to stop overthinking and just let himself _feel_. Once the emotions run their course, he’ll be able to move on. Jongin gets that, in theory, but it’s easier said than done.

Since he has always been rather mature for his age, some of his friends, at least the ones who don’t know him the way Sehun does, think he’s too serious and doesn’t have an immature side, or that he doesn’t feel things as deeply as they do since he’s so rational all the time. It couldn’t be further from the truth. Little do they know, Jongin feels so much it’s overwhelming. Like sometimes he could just be looking up at the sky, then that leads to thinking about space and time, then how the entirety of human existence is just a blip in the history of the universe, and that’s why life is so precious and every second must be cherished. Before he knows it, he’s already crying, and he has to hurriedly dry his tears before Sehun worries about him too much.

That’s why Jongin has to constantly channel what he’s feeling into creative outlets like drawing, painting, and writing, mostly poetry. It’s not something most of his friends know about. So far, he’s only shown his poems to Sehun, who was the one who encouraged him to write more in the first place. With his artistic outlets, Jongin does feel like he’s more in control of his emotions, but the fact that he’s always looking for this control is what he needs to overcome. His creativity is his way of compartmentalizing, if that makes sense. Jongin knows he has to be comfortable with his emotions, even if there’s no logical explanation to why he might be feeling happy, or angry, or sad. It’s part of being human.

He’s explained this to Sehun before, who had trouble understanding it at first since their personalities can oftentimes be in opposition. While Jongin is practical and less of a risk-taker, preferring the safer slowly-but-surely approach to life, Sehun is impulsive and thrives on taking as many risks as possible. He likes to do everything at a fast pace Jongin still isn’t comfortable with sometimes.

While their differing natures have been the basis of many of their arguments, they’ve learned how to better understand one another. Now they’ve actually realized now how their differences make their friendship even stronger, which is pretty cool and probably why their friendship has lasted for so long, and only gotten even stronger as the years go by. 

Walking around lost in thought, Jongin finds himself at the outskirts of the fair where there’s a lot less people around. Finally he feels like he can breathe, although the air is saturated with the smell of funnel cake. Subconsciously he must’ve been attracted to it, but after actually reaching the booth a while back, he realized he didn’t have much of an appetite for his favorite fair food after all. He walks further along the path to sit at a picnic table next to a vendor that must have closed down early for the night. Whoever sat here last left all their garbage on the table, and there’s even more litter scattered on the ground. Jongin is bothered by this and wants to clean up and throw everything into the trash bin, but even that’s overfilled so it’s a lost cause. And, he still has the cotton candy he bought for Sehun in his hands - which, upon looking at it again, no longer looks as appetizing as when he first bought it. The sticky humidity and constant movement it was subjected to has transformed the once beautiful candy flowers into unfortunate-looking pink blobs. No way Sehun would want to eat this anymore, but he still can’t bring himself to throw it out yet.

From where Jongin is sitting, he has a perfect, unobscured view of the Aerial Swing ride slowly rising into the sky. The colorful swings begin to fan out like blooming flower petals as the ride increases in speed and gains momentum. This ride always reminds Jongin of this time he went on it with Sehun a few summers ago, when Jongin’s left sneaker tragically flew off while they were spinning in the air because he was wearing it like a slipper - a habit he still has, but at least he remembers to put it on properly before rides now. Thankfully no one down below got hurt, but Jongin was mortified anyway. Sehun searched for the sneaker where they saw it fall during the ride, while Jongin sat on a bench feeling helpless with his sneaker-less and sockless left foot. He’s not exactly a fan of socks, alright, especially in the summer. Even in the winter, too, but that’s beside the point. And while Jongin was willing to help look for his sneaker anyway, Sehun had yelled at him to stay put because there were numerous unidentified germs on the ground. Unfortunately the search came up empty, so Sehun used the three dollars he was saving for one last fair food snack to buy him a pair of flip flops, all so Jongin wouldn’t have to walk home with one bare foot and contract a horrible disease.

That summer was around when Jongin had started to figure out that maybe he liked his best friend as more than a friend. It’s something he’s sure of now, but back then, it was pretty complicated. He didn’t know if what he felt was simply jealousy over the fact that Bohyun was taking up time he normally hung out with Sehun, or the actual scenario - that he was jealous that he wasn’t the object of Sehun’s affection in the first place.

After Bohyun had graduated, the problem seemed to have resolved itself, since jealousy was no longer a tangible threat that confronted him daily. But now Jongin understands that nothing was solved back then - he had only pushed his newfound feelings away, uncomfortable with how to deal with them, and what that would mean for his friendship with Sehun. It was much easier for him to ignore the elephant in the room, in favor of spending every day with his best friend like they always had.

But now Jongin fears that his inaction has come back to bite him. He had told Baekhyun that it wasn’t his place to stop Sehun from doing what he wanted, and although he really does believe that, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to, anyway. Of course he wants Sehun to stop looking at other guys when he has Jongin by his side, who cares about him more than any of them ever could. Would they peel all the shrimp for Sehun when they eat hot pot? Would they stay up until three in the morning to help him finish school projects he left for the last minute, despite the constant reminders they provided? Would they know when Sehun was feeling down, even if he doesn’t say it out loud, and instantly know the best way to make him feel better? Jongin has done all of that, and more. Maybe it’s selfish to want Sehun for himself, maybe he’s being weirdly possessive, but that’s why Jongin always stopped the words before they could ever leave his mouth.

His best friend is a free spirit, and from the first time they met, that’s what drew Jongin in, and what continues to keep him so helplessly interested. Sehun is like a breath of fresh air in spring that makes every day they spend together feel as comfortingly familiar as it feels new, even if they’re doing the same things they always have. All they could be doing is sitting in Jongin’s bedroom in silence, with Sehun scrolling through his timeline on Jongin’s PC while Jongin reads another Murakami novel on his booklist, and it feels like there’s no place in the world either of them would rather be.

Since silence is comfortable between them, it only goes to show that when they _are_ in the mood to talk (which is most of the time), their conversations flow so naturally that they rarely ever run out of new ideas and interesting things to share. Sometimes they’ll get so into their “deep talks” as they like to call them that they won’t realize how many hours have passed, and that they might’ve missed a meal or forgotten something else they were supposed to be doing. When they finally move to sit or stand up and stretch, they’ll groan in pain, finding that one or more of their limbs fell asleep from how long they were sitting and chatting, lost in their own little world. 

There’s a scuffling sound of sneakers on dirt that Jongin barely registers until a pair of familiar Converse enters his line of vision from where he’s been staring pointedly at the ground with his elbows on his knees. 

Jongin looks up, and sure enough, it’s Sehun. The sight of him alone is paradoxically both painful and comforting all at once, because it reminds him just how much he had missed his best friend’s presence. Which is crazy, because they saw each other all day yesterday, when they spent the afternoon at the skate park and the rest of the evening at the drive-in cinema at the edge of town to watch this horror movie Jongin was dying to see. Wouldn’t that be enough for most people?

“Hey. Baekhyun told me I’d find you here,” Sehun says, his tone careful.

Jongin suspects that’s a lie, because he didn’t tell Baekhyun where he’d be going before they went their separate ways. But he does have Baekhyun’s phone, so maybe Sehun found out after talking to him, went full-on detective mode and used a phone tracker to locate him or something? But Sehun continues on before he can ask.

“Okay, that was a lie. I spent the last forty minutes running around the fair looking for you literally _everywhere_ like a madman. No, seriously, I ran into at least five people and one of them cursed me out? Excuse me, sir, this is supposed to be a family-friendly event, and I already apologized?! Anyway that was until I calmed down and remembered that the best way to find you would be to follow the smell of funnel cake,” Sehun says, grinning. “Um, I’m guessing you already had some, but I bought you more just in case.” He hands over a plate of funnel cake Jongin didn’t notice he was holding. It was covered with another paper plate on top for protection, and somehow it’s this detail that makes Jongin want to hug him. “It’s probably not good anymore, though. I know you like to eat it when it’s all warm and chewy and now it’s kinda...not.”

With a sheepish look on his face, Sehun tentatively hands it over to Jongin, who is instantly struck by how much he now wants to eat funnel cake, despite deciding he wasn’t in the mood for it earlier. “Aw, thank you.” It’s really awkward for them to thank each other so directly like this - they quietly do nice stuff for each other all the time, and the other’s gratefulness is always assumed. But that makes the times they do vocalize it so much more meaningful, like how it feels right now. “It’s alright if it isn’t warm anymore! Cooled-down funnel cake has its own appeal too, you know. It’s crunchier and you can taste the powdered sugar more.” His face falls when he remembers what he has to offer Sehun in return. “Uh, about your cotton candy.” He trails off, and both their gazes drop to the sad-looking cotton candy still in Jongin’s left hand. “It’s been through hell, as you can see. Sorry, Sehunnie. It’s probably best not to eat this anymore. I should go throw it out, I don’t want you to get sick or anything.” Jongin’s eyebrows furrow with renewed disappointment in himself for letting his phone die earlier. If he had remembered to at least bring his power bank, then he might’ve been able to get the cotton candy to Sehun in time. 

“Shut up, of course I’ll eat it!” Sehun grabs the cotton candy from Jongin before he can even think of taking one step towards the overfilled garbage can, and he ducks his head down to bite a huge chunk out of it while Jongin squawks in protest. “You know I love cotton candy! I would never let it go to waste,” Sehun petulantly insists, mid-chew. “And because you, um. Bought it for me.” He mumbles through that last part, but Jongin hears him all the same. A slow, pleased smile spreads on Jongin’s face, and they continue to stare at each other like that, silently conveying how appreciative they are of one other, more than their words could ever say.

“Does it still taste good?” Jongin finally asks, bothered that Sehun is forcing himself to eat it for his sake.

“Uh, yeah, it’s delicious,” Sehuns assures him, giving him a look meant to convey how he’s more bothered by the fact that Jongin is bothered. He pulls another piece of cotton candy before popping it into his mouth and chewing animatedly - happy eating noises included, all of which Jongin finds terribly cute. It’s too late for him now - there’s no way his crush on Sehun will ever go away, so the only logical route from here on out is acceptance. “Here, try some.” Sehun rips off another piece and feeds it into Jongin’s mouth. But when the tips of Sehun’s fingers accidentally catch the tip of Jongin’s tongue, Sehun immediately withdraws them while looking strangely flustered.

Normally, this is the way it would play out: Jongin would snicker, and with a devious glint in his eye, he’d grab Sehun’s hand to try to lick him on purpose this time. A completely grossed-out Sehun would scream and use all his power to try to hold Jongin back before any of his best friend-turned-enemy’s saliva got on him, culminating in a wrestling deathmatch right there on the dirt ground, any fair-goer onlookers be damned.

But that doesn’t happen this time, because Jongin is acutely aware of how much he’d like to unironically lick his best friend - on his right cheek and his upper lip where some cotton candy got stuck, and maybe some other places, too. Not to mention how lately he’s been paranoid that Sehun possibly figured this out about him, which wouldn’t be a reach because despite his precautions, Jongin feels like he’s been too obvious. How could he not be, when he cares for Sehun as much as he does, and now he’s keenly aware of all the ways he shows it? And even if he wasn’t obvious, Sehun possesses the uncanny ability of reading Jongin in a way that makes him feel too seen. That’s why all he says is _sorry_ , and Sehun shrugs like it was no big deal.

“So how was the ferris wheel ride with Bohyun?” Jongin asks, feeling too curious now not to bring it up.

“Ugh, did Baekhyun tell you?” Sehun rolls his eyes when Jongin nods. “Figures. Anyway, it was um. Super awkward.” He twiddles his thumbs, looking anxious. “You’ll never guess what happened.”

“You finally confessed?” Jongin guesses, and it hurts just saying it.

“ _I_ confessed? Wait, _what_? And what do you mean by finally? Jesus, no, Bohyun confessed to me, you idiot.”

“Okay, well, that was gonna be my second answer.”

“Jongin, seriously what the hell? You thought I had a crush on _Bohyun_ of all people?” Sehun asks, incredulous.

“You don’t?” Jongin touches his upper lip with his index finger, a habit when he’s thinking hard about something. This new information is confusing.

“Absolutely _not_. I only see him as like, I don’t know, an older brother?” Sehun explains while playfully punching Jongin’s shoulder, which Jongin finds unnecessary in proving his point. “Okay wait, you got me distracted. I was _saying_ \- Bohyun confessed to me while we were at the top of the ferris wheel, and I turned him down because there’s already someone I like.” Sighing, Sehun rests his palms on his lap. “So you can imagine it was awkward as hell going the other half of the ride down with him. It was cool, though. I mean, he took my rejection pretty well.”

Jongin is processing all this while Sehun is talking, but his mind instantly zooms into one specific part his best friend just said. “You have someone you like?” _And it’s not Bohyun?_ “Who?” He feels almost scandalized. Maybe he can’t read Sehun as well as he thought, and that’s weird, alright? It’s like having a favorite book, and rereading it years later only to find that it’s a completely different story from what he’d remembered. Maybe that’s a dramatic example, but Jongin stands by it. Plus it doesn’t help that Sehun has this smug grin on his face, which makes Jongin’s insides burn with jealousy. But he reels it in because it really isn’t Sehun’s fault he’s excited thinking about this mystery person he likes so much. Jongin is the same way about him, after all.

“It’s this guy who’s older than me and really hot, like burning. But also really cute, especially when he pouts! He has so much charisma, but he stays humble and kind, and that duality makes me so crazy about him.” Sehun sighs dreamily. “He’s the hardest-working person I know...his passion is so infectious it ignites my own driving force - to be the best person I can be. But,” Sehun finishes, “his sense of humor needs some work, though.”

“Sehun, you never told me about this guy,” Jongin whines, feeling crestfallen. From the way Sehun just described this guy, it sounds like he found his soulmate or something. There’s a lot more to his best friend than he thought he had access to. It makes him think of that saying, _do you ever really know someone?_ If he doesn't get Sehun of all people, then everything must be a mystery, and he has to question whatever he thought he knew.

Looking up at the heavens as if to ask for guidance, Sehun sighs heavily, then looks Jongin in the eye. “Dumbass. It’s _you_.”

It feels like Jongin’s heart just dropped, and then his brain catches up with him. “Sehun. Is this your idea of a joke? Because that isn’t funny.”

Sehun groans. “Oh my God. I'm not joking, I swear. I just listed everything I love about you, how did you not get it?”

“You said he was an older guy, so I imagined some guy around Bohyun’s age, or even older, I don’t know! It threw me off!” Jongin argues defensively. “Also I’m hilarious. How could you question my humor like that?”

“You are older than me! By exactly eighty-eight days!” Sehun yells, ignoring Jongin’s opinions about his own sense of humor.

Jongin can’t help but grin now that the reality of the situation is starting to hit him. “You’ve counted?” It turns into a laugh, and Sehun starts laughing, too.

“Shut. Up. Don't tell me you haven't done the same."

"Fine, yeah, I totally have," Jongin admits, chuckling. “And what was it you said again about my looks? I’m hot, like burning?” No one can stop Jongin from milking this for what it’s worth. He’s been foolishly thinking of this scenario for way too long, and yet the way this unfolded wasn’t anything like he had imagined. Not in a million years, because it’s actually happening for real, and the way they’re making arguing their brand of flirting is so completely like them.

“That sounded better in my head. Help. I regret everything.” Sehun covers his face with both hands to hide the blush that’s steadily spreading down his neck. He peeks through his fingers to see Jongin’s expression begin to falter, and realizing how that could be taken, he backtracks in a panic. “I don’t mean - sorry, that came out wrong. I don’t regret it.” He takes Jongin’s hand and squeezes it, signaling how serious he is. “I was trying to be funny because I’m nervous right now, okay, but everything I said? I meant it.” He stares at Jongin, silently asking him to search his eyes and determine Sehun’s sincerity for himself. “I like you so much.”

“Well? I just bared my heart out to you. Aren’t you going to say anything?”

Sehun squeezes his hand again, and Jongin realizes he had been quiet for too long, carefully processing everything in his head because none of this seems real yet. “Sorry. I was just remembering when - do you know how I figured out I liked you?”

“No, how?” Sehun innocently asks, though he’s smiling in a way that shows he knows this story will be entertaining.

“Remember that night you passed your road test? On your first try?”

“Yeah, I was so excited that I called you right after so we could drive around? And we ended up like two hours away after curfew? We were grounded for a month after we got back! How could I forget,” Sehun says sarcastically, but he’s giggling at the memory.

Jongin laughs too, still remembering how much their parents had yelled at them when they finally got back around two in the morning, and on top of that it was a school night. “There wasn’t a destination, you were just driving around for the fun of it, and then you accidentally took that ramp because you forgot to switch lanes, so we ended up on the interstate.” Jongin shakes his head while Sehun continues to crack up during his storytelling. “We were blasting music with the windows down, and when Summertime Magic came on - hold on, okay this part is getting embarrassing,” Jongin groans, palming his face and taking a breather before continuing. “But the lyrics were suddenly all about you. And every song after that.” He can’t believe he admitted this to his best friend out loud. 

“I was jealous back when you started hanging out with Bohyun more, but I reasoned it was because I wanted to spend more time with you. You know, it didn’t quite hit home for me until that drive, because Bohyun had already graduated, and we were back to hanging out all the time. So even when I was having the time of my life while you were right there next to me on the driver’s seat, it still felt like that wasn’t enough anymore.” Sehun had long stopped laughing, now holding onto Jongin’s every word. “After that, I knew I wanted more from you. That scared me - I didn’t want that to change our friendship. But I should’ve known it already had.” He holds Sehun’s hand again, lacing their fingers together this time. “What I mean to say is, I like you, too, Sehun. And I think we should start dating. If you want to, that is.”

“Of course I want to.” Sehun nods enthusiastically. “Does that mean we’re, um, boyfriends now?”

“Yeah.” Jongin is so happy he feels like he could burst. “So, I think we should go on our first date. I heard you like the county fair,” Jongin says with a helpless grin. “Are you free?”

“Hmm. Let me check,” Sehun replies, pretending to check his watch first. “I’m free. And your sources are correct. The county fair is _only_ my favorite place ever.”

“It was a lucky guess.” Jongin is two seconds away from laughing. It strikes him how easy their banter is, even when they’re clearly flirting now, and it makes Jongin wonder if that means they’ve been unknowingly flirting with each other for years. 

After finishing up the rest of their funnel cake and cotton candy, the two boys are newly energized by their sugar highs and ready to head back to the fair and enjoy the rest of the night together. They’re both too shy to hold hands in public just yet. But they’re walking close enough to bump into each other’s shoulders at every step, and when Jongin links his pinky finger with Sehun’s, they look at one other, then quickly away, quietly smiling to themselves like they have their own precious secret no one could ever possibly figure out.

“Where do you want to go first?” Jongin asks as they stroll through the endless rows of vendors and games and rides, occasionally having to separate and weave past a crowd before easily returning to each other again like there’s an invisible magnetic force keeping them together. And there is.

“Um, nowhere in particular,” Sehun says. “I’ll have fun as long as it’s with you.” Blushing, Sehun looks away, and Jongin couldn’t be any more fond if he tried.

“Then let’s go on the Old Mill.”

“Seriously?" 

“What?”

“That swan ride for couples?” 

“I was joking. Sort of. We really don’t have to, if it makes you uncomfortable,” Jongin assures him. “We could go on one of the new rides?”

“No!” Sehun quickly replies. “I’d love to go. Really. I was just surprised you suggested it first. Don’t laugh, but, I used to fantasize about going on that kind of ride with you.”

“No way, me too,” Jongin exclaims. “But our ferris wheel rides were nice, too,” he admits, wistful.

Sehun smiles softly, but then he looks like he remembers something. “I forgot to apologize earlier. You know. About going on the ferris wheel without you.”

“You don’t have to apologize, Sehun.”

“I feel like I do, so just listen. I didn’t think twice about it until I was already on the ferris wheel with him, and that’s when it hit me that we didn’t get to ride it together yet. Actually I even texted you about it, while I was on the ferris wheel, but I think your phone was long dead by that time. I was trying to reach you multiple times before that, too.” Sehun shakes his head. “So, I’m sorry, I should’ve been more considerate of your feelings. But if it makes you feel any better, I was thinking about you the entire time. I remember I kept thinking, ‘I can’t wait until I get to ride this again with Jongin.’”

Truthfully that does make Jongin feel better, though he still doesn’t necessarily want to admit it had bothered him in the first place. It’s a trivial thing to be concerned about in the vastness of how much he knows Sehun cares for him.

“I don’t ever want you to feel like you have to ask permission to do anything without me, Sehun. But, apology accepted.” Jongin lifts up his right hand to run his fingers through the soft strands on the back of Sehun's head. “We’ll ride the ferris wheel again together, but maybe when we come back another night? There’s so many new rides for us to try out, and I know you want to play at least a few fair games before we gotta head home. But for now let’s line up for the Old Mill.”

Now that the sun is setting, quite a few couples have lined up for the ride, but even the thirty minute wait passes by quickly with Sehun by his side. They don’t see anyone they know while waiting in line, which Jongin finds he’s glad about. He’s not exactly ready to tell their friends, not when he and Sehun haven’t had the chance to talk about it yet.

Stepping into the swan boat first, Sehun flails his arms when it wobbles more than he expects, but Jongin is there to steady him. After Sehun sits down safely, Jongin takes his seat next to him, feeling a little nervous himself. But he doesn't show it, knowing he needs to put on a brave face for Sehun, who still feels remnants of anxiousness about being in water. Understandably so, because he had a near-drowning experience when he was a child. For years, he had avoided getting into bodies of water like pools, rivers, and the ocean. Determined to conquer his fear, Sehun had enrolled in a beginner's swimming class at the public swimming pool back in their freshman year, where Jongin was working part-time as a lifeguard. Sehun was able to conquer his fear with Jongin's support, and the whole experience was part of what really cemented their friendship.

The boat in front of them moves forward and disappears into the dark tunnel, and Jongin turns to glance at Sehun, who's already looking back at him, excitement written on his face.

"Are you scared?"

"No way, why would I be scared?" Jongin asks. "Are you?"

"It looks dark in there. I know you're afraid of the dark, Jongin."

"Am not."

"It's okay. You can hold onto my arm when it gets too scary," Sehun says, offering his arm to him and looking smug.

"It's not like there's going to be jump scares on this ride," Jongin replies, but it sounds like he's trying to convince himself more than Sehun.

"We're about to find out,” Sehun says ominously.

Their swan jolts forward, and once they enter the mouth of the cave, everything around them goes pitch black.

"Woah.” It's so dark Jongin can't even see his own feet. "Sehun, where are you?" Sehun laughs at him, but Jongin is comforted by Sehun's hand reaching for his. Both their grips are tight, so that makes Jongin feel better, too. It's mostly silent except for their breathing and the sound of the rushing water moving them along. There's a light that appears in the distance, which Jongin is cheered by. It turns out to be an illuminated, rather tacky display of a lady in a forest, surrounded by various cute animals like deer and rabbits. A flute instrumental is playing.

"Is that supposed to be Snow White?"

"No, then Disney would sue this place."

"So it's a knock-off Snow White."

"I guess. That reminds me, I still haven't been to Disney World."

"Dude, we have to go. It's only the most--"

"--magical place on Earth? Yeah, I’ve heard. That's wh-"

"Wait, shut up, do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"It sounds like, a waterfall?"

"A _waterfall_?" Jongin strains his ears, and sure enough, he hears the distinct sound of water loudly crashing just ahead of them. A few seconds later, their swan boat goes around a bend, and it's clear now that a waterfall bath is in their imminent future.

"Holy shit."

"I didn't sign up for this!"

"Neither did I? I didn't know this was a waterpark type of ride!"

"We're gonna get soaked," Sehun wails.

They're clutching at each other now for moral support, and there isn't enough time to build up the mental fortitude they need before being drenched in what's surely freezing cold water.

"Maybe it will feel refreshing," Jongin says, trying to be optimistic enough for the both of them.

"Fuck that, if I wanted to get drenched I'd be in my swim trunks. Now we'll have to walk around soaking wet."

"It's okay, at least we'll look like drowned rats together."

Sehun laughs, then clutches at Jongin's torso more desperately, as they're mere seconds away from the falling water.

"If we don't make it through this, just know that you mean the world to me, Jongin."

Now it's Jongin's turn to laugh. "You're so dramatic."

"You love it, though."

Then they're both closing their eyes and screaming, anticipating the rush of water falling upon them. But seconds pass, and nothing happens. Blinking their eyes open, they look up and around, and finally behind them, where the waterfall is still going strong.

"Don't tell me-"

"-it just stopped the second our boat went under it."

"That is so sick and twisted," Jongin says gravely.

There's a light at the end of the tunnel, and they're still hugging each other, trying to process what just happened as the ride finally comes to an end. Sehun holds Jongin's waist to help him steady himself as he gets up and out of the boat first, and then Jongin helps pull him out of the water. Walking dazedly out of the exit in silence, they return to the carnival world of boisterous sounds and flashing neon lights before finally doubling up in laughter.

"So not what I expected," Sehun says, and Jongin agrees, deciding he likes their chill ferris wheel rides a whole lot better. But this is surely another memory they won't forget.

"So what do you wanna do next?" Jongin asks.

"There's only an hour left until closing," Sehun says after checking his watch. "Let's play some games!"

They start walking around looking for something they’re willing to spend money on, and Sehun abruptly stops at one of those claw machine games, causing Jongin to walk right into him.

"What, you wanna play this one?"

"Uh huh. Look," Sehun says excitedly, pointing at the back of the pile of stuffed animals. "It's a bear."

"Oh!" Jongin perks up after he sees how adorable the bear plush is. It's fluffy and brown with a cute nose, and there's a pretty pink bow around its neck. "It's cute. I want it!"

"Okay, I'll get it for you," Sehun promises him, die-hard determination written on his face.

After Sehun feeds in the quarters, the machine whirs to life. Furrowing his eyebrows in concentration, Sehun uses the stick controller to move the mechanical claw directly over the bear. Satisfied in its placement, Sehun presses the button with confidence, and the claw goes on its downward descent. Jongin watches in rapt attention, forehead pressed onto the glass. The claw stops and closes over the bear's torso, but when it starts moving back up, it loses its grip and the bear topples back into the pile.

" _Noooo_!" They scream in unison.

"I swear I had it," Sehun growls under his breath. "I'll try again."

This goes on several more times, with Sehun’s frustration exponentially increasing, and both their quarter supplies rapidly depleting. Now Jongin can’t help but feel really bad for saying he wanted the bear. By the sixth try, he touches Sehun’s shoulder apologetically and tells him it’s fine, he doesn’t want it that badly. But it’s too late. There's that all-too-familiar stubbornness in Sehun’s expression, and Jongin knows they won’t be leaving here until the bear is in his hands.

It’s twenty minutes to closing, and one of the workers is standing ominously in their peripheral vision, clearly ready to start packing up for the night. Right when Jongin is ready to drag Sehun’s stubborn ass out of there, Sehun woops. He watches in disbelief as the bear drops successfully into the shoot, and Sehun pulls it out of the machine.

Looking proud of himself, Sehun presents the bear to Jongin. “For you.”

“Thanks, Sehunnie.” Jongin accepts it gratefully, clearly aware of just how much effort Sehun put into this. “I love it.”

“You're welcome,” Sehun says, ducking his head shyly. “So I guess we gotta head home now?” Everyone around them is heading towards the gate, spoils in tow.

“Yeah, it’s almost curfew.” Now that his phone is sufficiently charged, Jongin texts his mom that he’s on the way home before she can freak out.

“Did you ride your bike here?” Sehun asks as they start making their way towards the exit before the fairgrounds security kicks them out.

“Yeah. I’ll take you home first.”

The ride to Sehun’s house seems to happen in slow motion, with all of Jongin’s senses heightened to appreciate the details. The rattling of the gears as he pedals, and the squeak of tires against gravel. The pervasive sound of the cicadas, combined with the heavy scent of honeysuckle in the night air. The light of the fireflies appearing and disappearing in an endless cycle around them. And most prominently, the feel of Sehun’s hands digging into Jongin’s shoulders, steadying himself as he stands on the pegs of the rear wheel.

Every so often, Jongin purposely swerves the bike. It makes Sehun yelp and lean into Jongin completely, arms wrapped around his torso, holding on for dear life. Laughing, Sehun lifts one of his hands to tangle them in Jongin’s hair. 

When they reach the driveway of Sehun’s house, Jongin gets off and kicks the stand up so he can walk Sehun to the door. They’re both standing there on the porch, not quite wanting to say goodbye just yet. Jongin feels something like deja vu, having remembered his dream, and it also reminds him that he has that plastic ring still in his pocket. 

“Sehun, I, uh - I got you something. I forgot to give it to you earlier.” Digging into his pocket, he retrieves the ring, and he’s glad to see it’s in one piece. It was supposed to be a dumb joke when he got it, but now that he recognizes the obvious intention behind it, he's two seconds away from hiding it back in his pocket and pretending this never happened.

Sehun leans forward and squints, and when he sees what it is, he wordlessly sticks his left hand out, palm down, fingers extended. Jongin gently grasps his wrist with one hand, carefully sliding the ring onto Sehun’s ring finger.

After inspecting it closely and carefully running his thumb across the sparkly pink heart, Sehun steps closer. "I love it." He's close enough that Jongin can see each of his eyelashes as he blinks innocently up at him. "By the way... I forgot to tell you when I noticed it earlier, but your stubble is hot."

"Um. Thanks," he replies, feeling like his face is on fire over Sehun's straightforwardness about his attraction to him. He had forgotten about wanting to show that off to Sehun in the wake of their mutual confessions. “Can I kiss you?” Jongin asks, heart pounding.

“God, I thought you’d never ask.” Sehun pulls him by the front of his shirt, and crashes his mouth against his.

Before either of them can really get into it, the porch light turns on, making them both take a step back in surprise. Jongin’s heart is racing for a different reason now when the front door opens, and Junmyeon, Sehun’s older brother who’s home for the summer himself, looks suspiciously between Sehun and Jongin. Whether he actually saw anything or not is unclear.

“You didn’t pick up your phone. Mom was looking for you,” Junmyeon scolds Sehun. “Jongin,” he says politely enough to him in greeting.

“Hey,” Jongin says in a feeble voice.

“Sorry.” Sehun checks his phone and sure enough, there’s two missed calls from his mom and one from his brother. He must’ve left his phone on silent.

“There’s leftovers in the fridge if you’re still hungry,” Junmyeon says before nodding at Jongin once more, this time a goodbye. He turns around to go back inside, leaving the door open.

“That was so awkward,” Sehun says, laughing. “Do you think he saw us?”

“God. I hope not,” Jongin groans. The last thing he needs is Junmyeon holding a grudge against him for corrupting his baby bro. He shuffles his feet, stalling. “I, uh. Guess I’ll head home now.”

“Okay,” Sehun says, his tone clearly indicating he doesn’t want the night to end, either. “I’ll see you tomorrow?” 

“Yeah. I’ll pick you up this time. Text me as soon as you wake up.”

“I will. Text me when you get home though, so I know you're safe.”

Jongin nods and walks backwards toward his bike, not wanting to break eye contact with Sehun just yet, but he ends up miscalculating the distance to his bike and crashes right into it. Thanks to his quick reflexes, he catches it by the handlebars before his bike clatters to the ground. “Pretend you didn’t see that,” Jongin says, giggling.

“So smooth.” Sehun grins.

“Bye,” Jongin calls out from the end of Sehun’s driveway. The last thing he sees is Sehun waving cutely back at him, then he gets on his bike and starts pedaling down the street.

There’s a stupid grin on his face the whole bike ride home, but it’s dark enough that no one can see how over the moon he is.

 _Sehun is my boyfriend now. Holy shit, we_ kissed!

Jongin stands while pedaling, feeling like he’s bursting with too much energy to stay seated for the rest of the ride. He can’t wait until tomorrow to spend a whole day with Sehun again. Maybe they'll even get to kiss on the ferris wheel this time.

It might be the middle of July, but for Jongin, it feels like summer is only just beginning.


End file.
